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State Officials Investigating Use Of DOJ Helicopter At High School Football Game

SACRAMENTO (AP) — State officials are investigating the use of a Department of Justice helicopter at a high school homecoming football game in Northern California.

Top officials at the DOJ reportedly did not know the helicopter — usually flown for drug busts — was being used to hover over the game in El Dorado Hills.

The incident was caught on video and uploaded to YouTube. It reportedly showed a DOJ agent dropping a football from the helicopter to his son, a player, on the field, during a homecoming game at Oak Ridge High School in November.

The cost to taxpayers for use of the chopper was between $900 and $1,300 for the stunt, not including the cost of personnel used to fly the aircraft.

Larry Wallace, director of law enforcement for the DOJ, said he will now personally approve any authorized use of the helicopter.

(Copyright 2013 The Associated Press.)

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